The lack of rain during the critical months of September and October permitted
the growers to harvest their Nebbiolo grapes at extraordinary levels of
sugar. While some people view high sugar content as a mark of quality,
keep in mind that the naturally preserving acidity tends to be reduced as sugar
levels rise. Further, many vintners experienced difficulty in completing
their fermentation.

While the sugar content makes for dizzying levels of alcohol in the wines, the
extreme praise for the vintage has led to price increases which can be equally
dizzying.

The tasting numbers were incredible!

One wine was slightly ahead of the group. But second place through 8th
place were separated by a mere SEVEN POINTS!
Two sets of three wines were tied statistically!

We break the ties by the greatest number of firsts, followed by the greatest
number of second place votes.

The Wines

Gerald's
Rank

Ellen's
Rank

Bob's
Rank

GROUP
RANK

Total Points

1sts/2nds/
Lasts

ELIO
ALTARE1997
BAROLO
$77.99

3

4

3

1

60

3/1/0

CASCINA
BONGIOVANNI1997
BAROLO
PERNANNO
$56

5

8

2

5

77

1/2/1

CAVALLOTTO1997
BAROLO
BRICCO BOSCHIS
$39.99

8

7

6

7

82

2/1/2

PIO
CESARE1997
BAROLO
$67.99

7

6

4

8

82

1/3/3

ALDO
CONTERNO1997
BAROLO
CICALA
$79.99

2

2

5

3

77

2/3/2

ALDO
CONTERNO1997
BAROLO
COLONNELLO
$99.99

4

1

7

2

75

2/3/2

CONTERNO
FANTINO1997
BAROLO
PARUSSI
$67

6

3

8

4

77

2/2/3

Alessandria
CRISSANTE1997
BAROLO
ROGGERI
$48

1

5

1

6

82

4/2/4

Notes by Gerald Weisl

8th
Place: PIO CESARE 1997 BAROLOHaving been tabbed by The Wine Spectator as one of its Top Ten on the
Top 100 list for 2001, we had high expectations for this wine. The first
critic felt it had "highly extracted fruit, some road tar, truffles and
saddle leather" notes. Another found it displaying "leather,
black licorice, tart cherries and it's very astringent." A third
individual felt the "tannin covered the fruit." Someone else
thought this "opened more than most and it was very tight at the start of
the tasting." Another person said it's got "tobacco notes and
good varietal character."
I thought this displayed medium intensity for Nebbiolo, with a bit of a berry
note and some dusty elements. A hint of spice was pleasant, too. I
tasted this wine first (it was wine "H" in the line-up) and felt it
had the least structure and was the most soft and ready-to-drink wine.
Interestingly, as most tasters evaluate the wines in alphabetical order, a
number of comments about it being extremely tannic may signify the "build
up" or cumulative effect of being tasted as the 'last' wine of the flight.
As for the price, one might truly be "Pio-ed".
One star (three star scale, 0 being average, 3 being exceptional).

7th Place: CAVALLOTTO 1997 BAROLO "Bricco Boschis"One critic
knocked this wine for having "the weakest aroma...there's nothing much here
on the nose." A second taster expressed disagreement, finding
"raspberry and cassis along with a bit of tar." Someone else
found "cherry & chocolate" notes which closed up briefly and then
blossomed. Another person agreed with the "chocolate" element,
while another said this has a "wall of tannin." One person felt
this was "spirituous and brandy-like, turning to oak and woody
notes." Another found "stemmy or herbal notes," while yet
someone else detected "un-ripe red fruits with ample bitter-sweet fruit,
herbs and oak."
While I found some very attractive notes here, such as spice, berries and nice
fruit, I ranked this poorly due to the intense forest-floor and earthy
fragrances. I like the mushroomy flavors and find the tannin and
astringency of this to warrant many years of cellaring. One to
one-and-a-half stars. Eight to 15 years of cellaring.

6th Place: ALESSANDRIA CRISSANTE 1997 BAROLO "Roggeri"This
wine found many fans and many detractors. One (former winemaker) critic
was "distressed by the skunky nose and prickly note on the palate, perhaps
the result of some malolactic fermentation having taken place in the
bottle." A physician detected a "band-aid" aroma.
Someone else diagnosed this as being "old and past its prime."
Another fellow described this as showing a "Burgundian 'stink,' with ripe
fruit and good balance." Someone else said it's "missing the
ripe fruit and has tart acidity, some plum skin notes, cedar and a short, herbal
finish." Another person detected "H2S."
One old-timer, a fan of old-school Barolo, found "forward, plum
fruit...it's young and typical of traditionally-styled Barolo."
My descriptors include tar, truffles, earth, some of those faded rose notes and
pencil lead fragrances...definitely not everyone's idea of Barolo, but I recall
many old bottles from my travels in Piemonte. It's a real throw-back to
old styled Barolo and, I felt, a really good example of old school. I like
both modern, fruity examples and this old style, too. Two-and-a-half
stars. Five to 15 years of cellar ability.

5th Place: CASCINA BONGIOVANNI 1997 BAROLO "Pernanno"We
heard from one taster about this wine's "velvety texture, ripened fruit
notes, paraffin wax-like character, along with some dusty, cocoa-like notes and
blackberry fruit." Someone else claimed the wine has "harsh and
bitter tannins" and it might be good with a "pasta with a tomato cream
sauce, as it has some plummy, cherry and raspberry notes." Another
taster found some "tangy notes which covered the fruit...a bit of
tobacco." One other taster felt "it changed quite a bit over the
course of the tasting...but it's bitter and too acidic, though it has nice
fruit."
I felt this was another "old school" Barolo, having hints of wet earth
and woodsy, forest-like scents. It displays some dried cherry fruit on the
palate and plenty of astringency, having eight to 15 years of tannin. One
star.

4th Place: CONTERNO FANTINO 1997 BAROLO "Parussi"The first
person to offer an opinion found lots of "sweet, vanilla and
cherries...almost Port-like and too sweet to pair very well with
food." Another taster noted "black cherries" with some
"earthy, minerally and lead pencil notes." Someone felt this had
the "strongest body with burnt 'Fruit-Tart' notes..." One person
echoed the "burnt" notes, adding "it's harsh and like a dry Port
with a very hot finish." One fellow found notes of "prunes and
apricots," adding these features made this attractive.
I found some sweet cedar and vanillin notes on the nose. I am not sure I
would identify it as Barolo, but it was a pleasantly-made,
internationally-styled red wine. It certainly has the "grip" of
Barolo! The tannin level is high and gives this a chance to cellar nicely
for 8-12 more years. One star.

3rd Place: ALDO CONTERNO 1997 BAROLO "Cicala"A
fan described this as having nice "barrique notes and a good balance of
fruit. There's plenty of depth..." Someone else found
"nice tobacco notes and black licorice, some forest floor notes, but it was
sharp and tart." Another taster detected "tangy tangerine or
mandarin orange-like acidity." A critic knocked it for its
"short finish." Another person said this was "the lightest
in body." Someone found "a lacquer note on the nose and some
mushroom," while another taster felt the "nice berry notes stood
out." One person found it to have "sweet, cordial flavors."
I liked the hints of spice and berry here, finding the wood a complimentary
character, rather than the over-riding character. Some white pepper spice
mingles nicely with the fruit/cedary/woodsy complex on the nose. The wine
has terrific structure for cellaring, being quite astringent and showing plenty
of fruit. It is certainly not "old school" winemaking, yet it's
not the new-wave, maximum wood school of winemaking, either. Classy.
I'd give it five to ten more years, though it's probably quite a match for red
meats right now. Two stars.

2nd Place: ALDO CONTERNO 1997 BAROLO "Colonnello""Abundant, nearly sweet black fruit notes with vanillin, new oak,
jammy, cherries and a sweet finish" were the elements found by the first
taster. Someone else described this as having a fragrance reminiscent of
"Bourbon barrels...nicely oaked with hints of plum sauce and some curranty
notes." Another taster said this was "Over the top...too
oaky and too Port-like and way too sweet." Another critic found a
hint of "grapefruit," adding "this needs food."
Someone else found "nice, leathery notes but not a great
finish." Someone else said it's "thin on the finish, showing
just the oak." One other person found the oak, but said "it's
not Barolo."
I found plenty of vanillin and cedar notes as the initial fragrances. You
might not find the "Barolo" here, at first, especially with such a
nose. Very modern style. On the palate the wine is tannic and has
some of the more typical notes I associate with Barolo: earthy, light woodsy
elements and such. It tastes more like "old school" winemaking,
though the nose is more like that of a modernist. One-and-a-half
stars. Five to ten years of cellaring potential.

1st Place: ELIO ALTARE 1997 BAROLOElio
Altare sued his cork supplier, claiming the corks provided by the company were
responsible for "tainting" his wines in 1997.
After a long court case, the firm, reported by several news organizations as the
German firm called Gltig, agreed to pay Altare something like $500,000.
A report in the Piemontese newspaper "La Stampa" says Altare was able
to salvage 5,000 bottles of wine which are being sold as a "souvenir of the
battle."
The battle, by the way, was characterized as "David versus
Goliath." We recall David slaying Goliath with a rock. This
time he did it with a cork!The first
Robert Parker to speak about this wine found it to be "pleasant, with gobs
of sweet fruit, a creamy richness and rose petals and truffles on the
finish." Someone else described it as being "well-balanced
between cherry and meaty notes...it's more of what I expect from
Barolo." Another taster detected "fruit, forest floor and some
tobacco notes." Someone else felt this had "the best
nose." Yet someone else found it "more extracted than
concentrated."
I liked the vanillin notes up front, with hints of a dusty character. I
felt the wine showed better on the palate than on the nose, having plenty of
fruit and very deep flavors. The tannin level is balanced and the
wine has enough fruit to match the astringency. Five to ten years of
cellaring time. Two stars.

Please note: The wines tasted are not always wines
we have (or have had) in the shop.
Many bottles are merely for our enological exploration.
Price quoted are current at the time of the tasting, but may be different
when you're reading this.

WE HAVE NOT ORGANIZED A TASTING IN A WHILE...
BUT WE DO POST THE RESULTS OF A PRIVATE TASTING GROUP THAT'S BEEN MEETING FOR
MORE THAN 40 YEARS!

We are working on
organizing some blind-tastings at the shop.
Send us a note to indicate your interest in participating.
These would be on Wednesday evenings and you'd need to bring 8 wine glasses.